Veteran keeper Essam El-Hadary produced an amazing performance to help Ismaily claim a goalless draw at reigning champions Ahly in the Egyptian league on Wednesday.
A fast-paced and eventful clash saw neither side manage a single goal, as both teams had their keepers to thank for a string of crucial saves to keep clean sheets at Gouna Stadium.
The dying minutes of the game saw Ismaily defender Shawky El-Saied sent off for a second bookable offense following a scuffle with Ahly striker Amr Gamal.
Ahly climbed to 12th spot with four points but they still have two games in hand, whereas Ismaily – who were deducted six points by FIFA for failing to pay off the wages of former striker John Owoeri – are now 16th with three.
MATCH FACTS
Full time: Ahly 0-0 Ismaily
Yellow card(s): Shawky El-Saied 21′, 90+5/ Hossam Ashour 39′, Ahmed Abdel-Zaher 63′
Red card(s): Shawky El-Saied 90+5
Starting line-ups:
Ahly: Sherif Ekramy, Sherif Hazem, Mohamed Naguib, Saad Samir, Sabri Rahil (Moussa Yedan 78′), Hossam Ashour, Hossam Ghaly, Mahmoud Trezeguet (Mohamed Hany 86′), Walid Soliman, Amr Gamal, Ahmed Abdel-Zaher (Mohamed Rezk 84′)
Ismaily: Essam El-Hadary, Shawky El-Saied, Karim Eldaw, Ahmed El-Esh, Ahmed Samir Farag (Bahaa Mady 68′), Alexandro (Mohamed Zika 64′), Hosny Abd-Rabou, Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz, Amr El-Soulaya, Kelechi Osunwa (Mahmoud Metwally 81′), John Antwi
Venue: Gouna (Red Sea)
Match Video Review
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